Public Sector Smart Energy Program

Summary

As part of the drive to reduce Barbados’ dependence on fossil fuels, enhance security and stability in energy supply, improve the economy’s competitiveness, and enhance environmental sustainability, the Government of Barbados has established a Public Sector Smart Energy Program (PSSEP) which is designed to promote and implement the use of viable Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) measures in the public sector.

The PSSEP complements the Energy SMART Fund Project, which supports the achievement of the objectives of the Sustainable Energy Framework by private businesses and households in Barbados through a package of economic instruments targeting SMEs to address the main market failures that prevent the country from adopting RE and EE. Consequently, both the private and public sectors of the country will be actively contributing to the achievement of the overall objective of reducing the country’s fossil fuel dependency.

The PSSEP is funded by two (2) of Barbados’ Development Partners – the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the European Commission (EC). The IADB has provided resources of US$17 million (approximately BDS$34 million) under a loan agreement (Loan No. 2748/OC-BA), while the EC has provided Grant resources in an amount of €5.81 million (approximately US$ 7.664 million) under the 10th European Development Fund. The Grant resources are being administered by the IADB under Non-reimbursable Financing Agreement No. ATN/CF-13316-BA.

Components of the PSSEP

The PSSEP is comprised of three (3) major components as follows:

Component 1- Retrofit of government buildings with RE and EE technologies and public lights with EE technologies.

This component will finance: (i) the retrofit of approximately 85% of public lights with EE technologies; (ii) the retrofit of at least twelve (12) government buildings with EE technologies; and (iii) the installation of solar PV systems on these government buildings.

Component 2 - A pilot project and studies for encouraging the use of RE.

This component will finance: (i) a fleet of government electric vehicles powered by RE sources to promote low carbon transportation technologies in Barbados; and (ii) studies culminating in a business prospectus to facilitate the construction and operation of an ocean power plant.

This component will finance the following subcomponents: (i) capacity building and training to upgrade professional and technical skills; (ii) upgrade of capacity within the Government of Barbados in all sectors related to sustainable energy; (iii) public awareness campaigns at all levels to promote sustainable energy, such as schools, universities, labor unions, and broader civil society; (iv) a Project Execution Unit (PEU) for the PSSEP in the Division of Energy and Telecommunications as well as software for data collection; and (v) the monitoring and evaluation of the PSSEP, including the data collection and analysis of the impact, outcomes and output indicators of the Program.